Stop exporting power - DA
2008-01-20 15:32
Cape Town - The Democratic Alliance is to quiz government on why state utility Eskom is supplying power to South Africa's neighbours when its own people are having to deal with rolling blackouts.
It has called for a halt to electricity exports and the cancellation of power contracts with other Southern African Development Community states.
"Regardless of our contractual obligations, there can simply be no reason for South Africa to supply Namibia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique when there is such a desperate lack of reserve capacity in our domestic market," DA public enterprises spokesperson Manie van Dyk said in a statement on Sunday.
It was clear South Africa was facing a national crisis and was not in a position to look after other countries' electricity requirements, he said.
As anger mounted across the country at the weekend over Eskom's inability to supply enough electricity, media reports quoted trade union Solidarity spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans as saying Eskom exported 3 000MW of electricity to neighbouring states - close to the output of one power station.
Penalties
Van Dyk said government needed to explore every possible solution to the crisis, including "suspending or terminating any agreement we may have with neighbouring states".
The DA was aware of the fact that such cancellations might lead to penalties, but it believed the cost of these would "fade into insignificance" compared to the enormous financial losses the persistent power cuts were causing to the local economy.
"We are all too aware of the negative impact this might have on ordinary people in our neighbouring states, a possibility we deeply regret. But the first priority must be electricity needs here at home.
"The political question should also be asked as to why we are propping up the Mugabe regime through our supply of electricity to Zimbabwe," he said.
His party would submit Parliamentary questions to the ministers of public enterprises and minerals and energy affairs, requesting details of how much power Eskom supplied to South Africa's neighbours, and "whether these SADC states have lived up to their contractual obligations".
According to reports, Solidarity claims Zimbabwe has not paid for the electricity it receives from South Africa.
- SAPA